Tentering machine



Margh 9 1926.

C.-H. RAMSEY @ENTERING MACHINE Filed Dec 6, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 C. H. RAMSEY March 9 1926.

TENTERING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6, 1925 WIT/V588 W, K

Mamh Q' 1926.

Q. H. RAMSEY TENTERING MACHINE Filed D96. 6, 1925 5 s t s t :5

:P a 4110mm) arch 9 1926 1,576,220

C. H. RAMSEY TENTERI NG MACHINE Filed Dec. 6, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 WIT/JESS INVENTOR, 4 QM mix. owmsa %%%Z I u I, F 4' ATTORNEY March 9 1926. 1,576,220

c. H. RAMSEY TENTERING MACHINE Filed Dec. 6, 1925 6 Sheeis Shee 5 A mmvron,

9 Q a Kmmsex March 9 19265. 4 1,576,220

C. H. RAMSEY TENTERING MACHINE Filed Dec. 6, 1923 V 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 .JL'IIIIIJ J C. R f,

A TTOR/IE Y.

Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

CLIFFORD H. RAMSEY, OF GLEN ROCK,'NEW JERSEY.

TENTERING MACHINE.

Application filed December 6, 1923. Serial No. 678,875.

To aZZwhom z't may concern:

Belt known that I, CLIFFORD H. RAMSEY,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Glen Rock, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tentering lvi achines, of which the following is a Ppecification.

This invention relates to cloth tentering machines and particularly to tentering machines of the class in which a pair of moving systems including endless chains or chain-conveyors having clips to hold the selvages of the cloth are supported in side by side arrangement, but with the usual divergence between them at one end to effect the tentering or stretching, by a pair of horizontal rails or frames adapted to be adj usted toward and from each other by means at intervals of their length, as several rotary transverse screws each having a right-handthreaded engagement with one rail and a left-hand-threaded engagement with the other and usually all connected togetherso that the adjustment affects all parts of each rail in connnon-by a rotary shaft extend ing lengthwise of the machine and suitably inter-geared with the several screws. The principal objects of the invention are to provide a tentering machine which may be driven with very much less expenditure of power and wear of certain of the parts and with less danger of breakage of parts on account of undue strains than in existing machines of this class; to provide for auto matic widening and narrowing, i. e., adjust-- ment of the said rails from or toward each other; to provide for gaging the extent of movement of said rails when they are adjusted manually; and to construct certain parts so that they are stronger and better adapted to withstand the strains and stresses imposed on them than is the case with existing machines.

1n the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of the improved machine taken on line 1-1, Fig.

3, and looking toward the left, or toward the end of the machine at which the goods are delivered therefrom and the power received;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on line 22, Fig. 1, looking toward the left;

Figs. 3 and t are side elevations of the two end portions of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55, Fig. 6; i i

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 66, Fig. 5 and shows the means for transmitting motion to only one of the tentering systems F 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the goods-receiving end of one of the said rails and certain parts associated therewith;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view on line 8-8, Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 shows a portion of one of the said screws, the nut therefor and the saddle member housing-the same, the nut and said member appearing in section;

'Fig. 10 is a plan and Fig. 11 an end elevation, partly in: section, of said saddle member I y 1 Figs. 19. and 13 are a side elevation and a plan of the nut; Y

Fig. 1 1 is a fragmentary front elevation showing means for gaging the extent of movement toward or from each other of the rails 0 when effected manually;

Fig. 15 is a section on line 15.-15 and Fig. 16 a section on line 16-16, Fig. 14; and

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary sectional detail of Fig. 14.-. i

At suitable intervals apart are placed the pairs of side standards a, the members of each pair being rigidly connected by a transverse T-rail Z) bolted thereto. These T-rails afford support at intervals and as follows for the mentioned rails, c, for respectively supporting the endless chains or chain conveyors. A pair of, saddle members (Z Figs. 2, 5, 9 to 11) are mounted on and slidingly engaged with each T-rail and on each such member and receiving a stud cl thereof is a cradle member 0, all of such members at the right (or left) side-of the machine having a rail (3 seated thereomas shown in the first live figures of the drawings. By this construction (which is not new) each rail is carried by a support cZ-e at each of several points in, its length and each may.

slide transversely of the machine orlengthwise ot the T-rails toward thecther. As

usual, each rail has'rotary turrets f g at its ends around which the endless chain supported thereby extends, neither chain as a whole being shown, though one of the clips thereof appears in Figs. .3, 4, 5, and 7: the endless chain, thus extending around the turrets, has the stretclms thereof between the turrets arran 'ed to travel on and thus be guided by the rail, all as usual. As heretofore, the ends of the T-rails are equipped with bearings z for rotary screws or worms j, each having its end portions right-hand and left-hand threaded, as seen in Fig. 1.

F or effecting the sliding toward and from each other of the rails and hence the chains I connect each structure comprising a rail and its supports cZc with the screws as follows: Each screw penetrates with a loose fit (Fig. 9) the corresponding saddle members of the two rails 0, each of which is cored out but has an internal integral bearing por tion 70 formed with a vertical bearing 7; traversed by the screw, and in this hearing is snugly fitted, to rotate and also to slide vertically therein, the cylindrical nut Z, which has a transverse threaded bore Z en gaged with the threading of the screw. This 1s an important feature of my invention.

Heretofore the nuts were square and contained in square cavities, which they fitted with varying nicety. This, when the several screws were all turned at once (as will appear), causedthem to act some in advance of others in the adjustment of the rails, so that frequently the latter would be fractured as the result of the unequal strain. Again, the screws are frequently flexed a little, and if any nut (as frequently happens) could not turn on an axis'transverse of the screw and so accommodate itself to the oblique position consequently assumed by the screw there would ensue considerable friction and wear and occasional breakage of parts, and it would require also great effort to adjust the rails. By forming each nut cylindrical and fitting it to a cylindrical bearing Z, which can be readily drilled intothesaddle memher, it can turn and accommodate itself to any position the screw may take if it happens to be flexed, it can move up and down 7 with the screw should the latter be so flexed (the necessary sidewise movement in such case being allowed by the presence of some lateral lost motion between the saddle member and rail 5, as at cl in Fig. 5), and the fit of all the nuts in their bearings is the same so that they act in unison on the rails 0 when they are acted upon by their screws. Thus, on thewhole it requires but little power to adjust the rails, what resistance there is is not only small but constant, and the wear of the parts is practically eliminated and breakage thereof is avoided.

The synchronousturning of the several screws is effected, as usual, by a flexible shaft on whose shaft-sections m are journaled in bearings z" below the bearings z and have suitable gearing n connecting them with the respective screws. The means for rotating the flexible shafting will be hereinafter described.

The means for driving the moving tentering systems including the endless chains and turrets will now be described: One of the end pairs of standards a is provided with anti-friction bearings 0 for a horizontal rotary cross-shaft p which is adapted to be driven from adrive-shaft journaled in anti-friction bearings r in said standards,

through gearing s, at the far side of the machine in Fig. 8 (or at the right, Fig. 1), the

lattershaft being equipped with a belt-pulley t or other means for driving it. The end of each rail 0 which adjoins the mentioned pair of standards has a housing a secured thereto by capscrews o and depending there from. In the rail 0 is an anti-friction hearing w and in the bottom of the housing, alined with this bearing, is another antifriction bearing 00, these bearings ailording a journal for a vertical shaft z which carrier the turret f. Back of the vertical shaft 1 each ofthe two housings n has horizontal- 1y alined anti-friction bearings a through which extends the cross-shaft 72. A sleeve 2 is journaled in these hearings 2 of each housing and is splined to the shaft 2), as indicated at 2 in Fig. 6, but there is clearance between the shaft and sleeve, as indicated at p in said figure. The shaft 1 and sleeve have intermeshing spiral gears 3 and l. In previous constructions the member-corresponding'to sleeve 2, though splined on the cross-shaft so that it would afford a gear member slidable along with the housing and adapted to be rotated by the cross-shaft, was fixed to the shaft against movement transversely thereof,fsnugly fitting the same. The camming effect of the gear members tending to force them apart therefore and to cause a flexing of the cross-shaft produced a binding andcran'iping of the parts, and this imposed an undue load, with waste of power, which condition was badly aggravated of course if the shaft lacked absolute straightness, and also when the sleeve stood more or less near the middle of the cross-shatt where the said camming effect of the gears would be most effective to flex the crossshaft. By my construction, since the twoantergeared members 1 and 24; are held in proper cooperating relation in and by the same structure (cu) the mentioned cramping action of the gears has no influence whalever on the crossshaft, so that no undue resistance isiset up and the wear and tear on and undue strain of the parts eliminated.

The housing !.I/ fornls a lubricant receptacle as shown. So far as I am aware it is new to house the gear members, such as 2 and 3, in a lubricant reservoir so that they run in the lubricant contained in the reservoir and to suspend this reservoir from the structure 0. By this construction I not only provide for proper lubrication of the gears but produce a construction in which the stant distance apart.

lubricant is protected from the soda and other resolutions with whichthe fabric is sometimes treated from having access thereto. i

It is desirable to cause the simultaneous rotation of all the screws by rotating the shaft on, thus to adjust the two systems toward or from each otherfiw'hen a fabric of one width is to succeed another of different width, without stopping the tentering systems.- I have therefore provided the following means for obtaining such adjustment while the tentering systems are being advanced, and automatically: A counter-shaft 5 is j ournaled parallel with shafts p and g in brackets 6 6 on the standards in which said shafts are journaled. There are two spaced clutch members 7 and 7, revoluble on shaft 9 between a collar 8 and one of the bearings a, and one of these is connected with shaft 5 by gearing 9 and the other with said shaft by a sprocket-and-chain connection 10; between the clutch members 7 ,7 there is splined on the shaft 9 a clutch member 11 which is movable along the shaft into engagement with one and out of engagement with the other of said members whereby, according as it engages one or the other, shaft 5 will be rotated in one direction or the other.

Shaft 5 is connected with a short shaft 12, journaled in the bracket 6 at right angles to shaft 5', by gearing 13 (shown dotted in Fig. 1) and this shaft 12 is in turn connected with the shafting m by a sprocketand-chain connection 14: (Figs. 1 and 3). A shifting lever 15 is operatively connected with clutch member 11 and fulcrumed in the adjoining cross-rail Z) and it is connected by a link 16 with the lower arm of a hand lever 17 fulcrumed in a bracket 18 projecting from the adjoining standard a, and having its fulcrum 17 prolongedand equipped with an operating lever 17 to the upper arm of lever 17 is connected a rod 19 which extends freely through a lug 20 on the adjoining support (Z@ and is equipped with collars 21 adjustable lengthwise of the rod. hen the machine is tentering a length of goods the shift-able clutch-including train or means 1115161719 stands in its neutral position, so that each gearing connection 9 or 10 is idle and the rotatable means 513 12-1 l- /nj for shifting the rails 0 stands stationary and said rails remain at a conlVhen the tentering systems are to be adjusted toward or from each other the operator shifts said clutchincluding means to one of its limits according to the direction in which the adjustment is to take place, which brings in action the appropriate one of the gearing connections, 9*and 10. Before shifting the hand lever the collar 21 toward which the adjusting is to take place is set at a suitable position lengthwiseof rod 19 (whichmay'havemarked thereon a gage for each collar), and when the lug 20 engages this collar it shifts the rod with a distance corresponding tothe distance at which the collar was spaced from the lug.

Provision should exist in these machines for taking up slack in each tentering sys tem, and it is usually accomplished by making the bearing support for the turret at the end of the machine at which the goods is entered adjustable longitudinally of the machine. In Figs. 7 and 8 I show an adjustable mounting for each of these turrets which permits the adjustment to be effected readily and to a nicety and is peculiarly adapted to withstand the great strain imposed thereon. The rail 0 is formed with an elongated housing 22, open at the top and bottom, having a rabbet 23 at the top and along each side in which seats a slide 24 affording support for a post 25 which is keyed at 25 to the slide; on the upper end of this post is an anti-friction bearing 26 I for the turret g. At the bottom of the housing is another slide 27slidable in rabbets '25 thereof and penetrated by the lowerend of the post, which is reduced and threaded and has a nut 28. transversely by a screw29 which is arranged lengthwise of and journaled in the rail 0, being kept from lengthwise movement by collars 30, or in effect swivelled, and having its threading engaging threading formed in the post where the latter is penetrated by the screw. Adjustment is effected by releasing the nut, rotating the screw and again tightening the nut, which leaves the post firmly established in the rail 0. By this construction the mounting for the post and the manner in which'it is combined therewith are such that the whole structure is well adapted to withstand the great strain imposed upon it,.a nice adjustment can readily be effected, and the entire assembly is simple. 31 is a ratchet handle for operating the screw.

Sometimes itis desirable that the adjustment of. the rails 0 be effected n'ianually, as by a'hand-wheel 'y" placed on. one of the screws j, in which case means to gage-the extent of the adjustment is desirable. For this purpose I, provide the means shown in Figs. 14 to 17. On the bearing for said screw is a bent l'n'acket 32 having an upright slot 32 in its free end in which is The. post is penetrated clamped, adjustably, by a shoulder 33 and v a nut washer 33" astud 33. On this stud.

to the hub. \Vhen the collar is screwed up tight the dial, which is otherwise free to turn, is clamped to the disk between the same and collar 38. 39 is a pointer on bracket 32 to cooperatewith the dial. The bracket is formedwith' a split-collar 32 -(Figz' 16) and has a screw 32 by which this collar is clamped on the bearing 2',so that the dial may be tilted to any desired angle. The dial, whose scale will be provided with serial numbers, is secured by the collar '38 in that relation to the worm-wheel which will bring that one of such numbers which represents the then tentering width of the machine opposite the pointer; wherefore, whenever the distance betweenthe rails 0 (that is, the tentering width) is thereafter changed the pointer will indicate the new tentering width. The dial and pointer canof course be used either when the tentering width is effected manually, by turning wheel j, or when it is elfected'by the described automatic means;in the latter case it is presupposed that when, by reference to the dial and pointer, the operator observes the desired tentering width to have been attained he manually shifts the clutch-including train to neutral position, the collars 21. thenbeing utilized simply as safety stoppingtlevices. Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is: V a

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a supporting structure, an elongated structure movable transversely of itself and horizontally and having'depending saddle members resting on and guided by the supporting structure, a plurality of parallel screws journaled in the supporting structure and extending transversely of the movable structure and horizontally, the screws respectively penetrating the saddle members with clearance, and nuts closely fitting and revoluble in therespective saddle members on vertical axes and also slidable vertically in the saddle members and having the screws respectively penetrating and in threaded engagementwith them;

2. A tentering machine including, in combination, a supporting structure having spaced bearings, a rotary shaft journaled in said bearings, another structure having bearings and shiftable on the first structure lengthwise of the shaft, and means to be driven arranged on the second structure and including a tentering system and arotary member journaled inthe bearings of said second structure between the bearings ofthc first structure and having a gearing connection with said: system, said member being axially penetrated ,by and splined to the shaft. g

3. A tentering machine including, incombination, a supporting structure having.

spaced fixedbearings, a rotary shaft journaled in said bearmgs, another structure having bearings fixed therein and said structure being shiftable on the first structure lengthwise of the shaft, and means to be driven arranged on the second structure and including a tentering system and a rotary member journaled in the bearings of said second structure between the bearings of the first structure and having a gearing connection with saidsystem, said member being axially penetrated by and splined to the shaft but having circumferential clearance between itself and the shaft.

4. A tentering machine including, in combination, a supporting structure, a rotary horizontal shaft, said structure having spaced bearings for the shaft, a rail extending transversely of and over the shaft and shiftable on said structure transversely of itself, a lubricating reservoir extending down from the rail and penetrated by the shaft, a moving tentering system carried by the rail, a gear member splinedto the shaft and contained in and shiftable by and with the, reservoir, and means, including a gear member in mesh with thefirst gear member and housed withinthe reservoir, for transmitting movement to said system from said first gear member when the latter is rotating with the shaft. 7 i

5. A tentering machine including, in com bination, asupporting structure, a rotary horizontal shaft, said structure having spaced bearings for the shaft, a rail extending transversely of and over the shaft and shiftable on said structure transversely of itself, a'housing extending down from the rail between said bearings and penetrated by the shaft, a movingtentering system carriedby the rail, a gear member splined to the shaft and journaled in and shiftable by and with the housing, and means, including a gear member in mesh with the first gear member and journaled in the housing, for transmitting movement to said system from said first gear member when the latter is rotating with the shaft.

6. A tentering machine including, in combination, a supporting structure, a tentering system and means to carry the same shiftable transversely of said system in said structure, back and forth rotatable means for shifting the carrying means one way or the other, means to drive the tentering sys tem including arotary member journaled in said structure and constantly driven in one direction, separate gearing connections each having a driving engagement with said rotatable means and adapted to be driven by saidmember, one of said gearing connectionswhen driven in one direction being adapted to rotate said rotatable means in one direction and the other when so driven clutch one or the other of said gearing connections with said member adapted in its intermediate position to disconnect both of them from said member, the clutch-including means having portions each adapted when the same is shifted one way or the other to stand in the path of movement of the carrying means on the consequent shifting of the latter and thereby cause said clutch-including means to return to the intermediate position.

7. In combination, with a fixed structure, the moving tentering system and a structure carrying said system and shiftable on the first structure laterally of said system, means, including a screw journaled in the first structure transversely of said system and operatively engaged with the second structure, for shifting the latter structure,

and means to gage the extent of such shift- 1ng including a rotary dlal-includlng devlce in gear with the threadof the screw and movable in the firststructure and a pointer device on the first structure cooperating with the dial device, the part of the first structure carrying said devices being adjustable around the axis of the screw.

8. A tentering machine including, in combination, a supporting structure, a rotary shaft journaled in said structure, another structure having hearings and shiftable lengthwise of the shaft and having its weight largely supported independently of the shaft, means to be driven arranged on the second structure and including a tentering system, and a worm journaled in the bearings 01": said second structure and having a gearing connection with said system,

said worm being axially penetrated by and splined to the shaft.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

CLIFFORD H. RAMSEY. 

